Funding for Fire System Upgrades

fire system

Fire systems are often an overlooked component in reserve studies. They are a required system for most condominium building and their systems will both degrade with time or require upgrades to meet code requirements. These fire systems will often include several components which a community should fund for eventual replacement. They can include:


  • Fire Control Panels
  • Annunciation Panels
  • Fire System Peripherals - (pull stations, sensors, strobes, bells, etc)


We typically recommend funding for replacement of the fire control panels and annunciation panels at 15-20 years of age and the peripherals at 30 years. Every system is a bit different so there may be phased funding or partial funding depending on how old the system is and what kind of components are included in it.


If the system requires rewiring as well this can add significantly to the overall cost of upgrading the fire system. For this scenario we recommend obtaining bids then incorporated the estimated costs into the reserve study for the most accurate long term budgeting solution.